Electric water heater



y 2, 1967 H. c FISCHER 3,317,706

ELECTRIC WATER HEATER Filed March 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l I NVENTOR.

HARRY C- F\$CHER /M W/Zw y 2, 1967 c. FISCHER 3,317,706

ELECTRIC WATER HEATER Filed March 5, 1964 2 SheetsSheet 2 l Fig?? if 55%if ii I i j ll/I ' INVENTOR. HARRY C. F" SCHER 45 45 j v 15 Arrow 57.5

United States Patent Filed Mar. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 349,599

Claims. (Cl. 219-312) My invention relates to hot water heaters, andparticularly to hot water heaters that may be used as an auxiliarysource of hot water, and the principal object of my invention is toprovide new and improved heater constructions of this character.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part ofthis application, there are shown, for purposes of illustration,embodiments which my invention may assume, and in these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my improved heater in operativerelation with a wash basin,

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the heater,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view correspondinggenerally to the line 33 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view corresponding generally to theline 4-4 of FIGURE 3, and drawn to a slightly smaller scale, and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a differentembodiment of a portion of the invention.

With reference to FIGURE 1, the hot water heater herein illustrated todisclose my invention is shown in combination with a wash basin 11. Itwill be understood that the heater may be used to supply hot water toany other suitable means where hot water is required and that myinvention is therefore not limited to the combination disclosed inFIGURE 1. My invention is particularly adapted for use as an auxiliarywater heater or as a heater for water where no hot water source isavailable or convenient. Thus, for example, my invention may be used toheat water for gasoline filling stations, small otfices or stores,cottages, travel trailers, boats, small shops, and the like.

With reference to FIGURES 2 through 4, the hot water heater preferablyincludes a decorative outer tubular wall 12 which is here shown ascylindrical. A top and bottom 14 and 15 respectively, fit on oppositeends of the wall 12 to close the same.

Disposed within the wall 12 is a closed tank 16 which may be formed ofany suitable material, and preferably metal such as brass and the like.The tank 16, as herein disclosed, is formed of two cup-shaped members17, 13 which are telescoped at their open ends and silver soldered atthe seam to prevent leakage of water. Suitable insulation 16a may bedisposed between the tank 16, the decorative Wall 12, and the top 14, asseen in FIGURE 2.

A pipe means 19 passes through the tank 16 and may include a single pipeas shown in FIGURE 2, or a plurality of pipe sections, as shown inFIGURE 5, and the term pipe means is intended to include both. The pipemeans may be made of any suitable material, and preferably a metal suchas brass.

With reference to FIGURE 2, the vertical pipe 19 has a portion passingthrough an opening in the bottom wall 20 of the tank 16 and constitutingthe inlet end 21 of the pipe. The pipe also has a portion passingthrough an opening in the top wall 22 of the tank and constituting theoutlet end 22a of the pipe. The connections at the openings in the topand bottom tank walls are silver soldered to guard against leakage ofwater. It will be apprediated that the fused connection between the pipeand tank relatively locates the two for a purpose to later appear.

The pipe 19 has openings 23 and 24 respectively located adjacent the topand bottom walls of the tank 16 and preferably these openings may beformed by drilling through opposed walls of the pipe, as best seen inFIG- URE 3 with respect to opening 24. Slightly below the upper opening23, an orifice 25 is formed in the pipe, and this orifice may be formedas a brass nipplewhich has a press fit with the interior wall of thepipe.

Means are provided for heating the water within the tank and in thepresently disclosedembodiment, the heating means takes the form of acoiledjelectric immersion heater 26 of any well known type. The heatercomprises a metal tubular sheath 27 which is coiled several turns andpreferably has its terminal legs 28, 28 extending downwardly inside-by-side relation and through openings in the bottom wall 20 of thetank 16. The terminal legs are silver soldered to the tank bottom wall20 to prevent leakage and to position the heater.

Within the usual immersion heater is a resistance coil 29 which iselectrically insulated from the metal sheath 27 by compacted refractorymaterial 30. Terminal pins are connected to the opposite ends of theresistance coil 29 and extend outwardly of the extremity of respectiveterminal legs, such as shown by the terminal pin 31 in FIGURE 3. Theterminal pins are connectable to a source of electrical energy by wires,as is customary.

A thermostat 32 is disposed within a well 33 and is interposed in seriesrelation between the electrical source and the heater to regulateoperation of the latter. The well is preferably in the form of aninverted metal shell which is disposed within the lower end of the tank16 and extends through an opening in the tank bottom wall 20. The shell33 preferably has a silvered soldered connection with the tank toprevent leakage of liquid from the tank. As best seen in FIGURES 3 and4, the heater is coiled around the pipe 19 and well 33 to conserve spaceand to bring the heater close to the thermostat 32.

A deflector 34 is provided adjacent to the lower opening 24, to causewater flowing therethrough to fan out laterally within the lower end ofthe tank. As herein shown, the deflector may be in the form of aninverted metal shell which surrounds the pipe and is silver solderedthereto.

An upper collar 35 is secured to the outlet end 22a of the pipe 19,sucha'as by means of a set screw 36 and this collar locates the top 14.In the present embodiment, the collar has a reduced threaded end 37passing through an opening on the top 14, and a clamping nut 38 holdsthe top 14 to the collar. If desired, the collar 35 may be formedwithout the threaded end 37, and a similar collar may be secured to thepipe 19 in place of the clamping nut 38. g

A lower collar 40 may be secured to the outlet end 21 of the pipe 19, asby a set screw 41, and as before, a clamping nut 42 may be threadedontoa reduced threaded collar extremity to hold the bottom 15 in pla-ce. Thethreaded collar extremity passes through an opening in the bottom andalso through an opening injthe lower leg 43 of a metal bracket 44. Thebracket also has upright legs 45, 46, the former having an integralangular portion 47 overlying and parallel to the lower leg 43. Theangular portion 47 is provided with a pair of openings to closely passthe terminal legs 28 of the heater. An insulating grommet 48 assemblypasses through aligned openings in the bottom 15 and lower leg 43 andthus holds the bracket 44 against rotation about the pipe 19. It will benoted that the collars 35 and 40 hold the top 14, and bottom 15 inposition relative to the pipe 19 and thus the top and bottom may beadjusted to confine the cylindrical decorative wall 12 therebetween.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the outlet end 22a of the pipe 19 is connected tothe hot water tap 51 of the wash basin 11, a pressure relief valve 52being interposed in the connection for safety purposes. The inlet end 21of the pipe .3 19 is connected to a source of water, such as a Waterconduit leading from a water main. In FIGURE 1, a conduit 53 connectsthe inlet end 21 to the water pipe 54 which leads to the cold water tap55. A saddle connection 56 may be used to connect conduit 53 to pipe 54,or this may be replaced by a conventional T.

The thermostat 32 limits the temperature of the water within the tank 16to a predetermined degree, such as 190 F., for example. The water cominginto the pipe 19 from the source is at a much lower temperature, such as60 F., for example. When the hot water tap 51 is opened, water flowsthrough the pipe 19 and as it flows through the orifice25 it increasesthe speed of the restricted water and thus decreases the pressure in thepipe at the outlet side of the orifice and in the vicinity of the upperopening 23. The decrease in pressure causes hot water from the tank tobe drawn through the opening 23 and to corningle with the colder waterflowing to the outlet 22a, the resultant water being at a moderatedtemperature, such as 130 F., for example, for use by a person at thewash basin. A portion of the water entering the pipe 19 is drawn throughthe lower opening 24 and spread laterally by the deflector 34 toreplenish the water within the tank 16.

Instead of the opening 23 and orifice 25, the upper portion of the pipe19 may have a nozzel-like extremity 57 (such as shown in FIGURE whichinjects cold water into the open lower end of the upper portion of thepipe, and thus established the same action as before described.

The water tank 16 may be quite small so that its contents are easily andquickly heated, and maintained in a heated condition without any largeamount of electrical energy. In a construction found suitable forordinary use, a tank of two gallon capacity has been found suflicient toprovide eight gallons of hot water every hour at the hot water tap.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat I have accomplished at least the principal object of my inventionand it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that theembodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified,without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that theinvention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specificallydescribed; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosedembodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limitedthere- 10.

I claim:

1. A hot water dispenser, comprising a metal water storage tank, anelectric immersion heater in the lower end of said tank to heat theWater in said tank, an upright metal pipe passing completely throughsaid tank, having one outward extension at the lower end of said tankwhich is connectable to a source of Water and another outward extensionat the upper end of the tank which is connectable to a conduit forleading heated water to a place of use, said outward extensions havingfused water-tight connections with respective tank ends which locatesaid pipe relative to the tank, said pipe interiorly of said tank havingan opening adjacent to the upper end of said tank and an orifice near tobut below said opening, said orifice causing an increase in speed ofwater flowing therethrough and a resultant decrease in pressure abovesaid orifice, the decrease in water pressure inducing hot Water fromsaid tank to be drawn through said pipe opening and into said pipe tomix with the water flowing to said other outward extension, said pipealso having a lower opening within and adjacent to the lower end of saidtank to replenish water withdrawn from said tank, an inverted cup-shapedshield carried by said pipe and surrounding said lower opening tolaterally distribute water entering said tank through said loweropening, thermally responsive means for maintaining the water withinsaid tank at a selected temperature, said thermally responsive meansbeing disposed within an inverted metal shell which has fusedwater-tight connection with the lower end of said tank and with itsclosed end disposed within said tank in the vicinity of said immersionheater, a tubular casing surrounding said tank and having removable topand bottom ends, and abutments carried by said pipe outward extensionsoutwardly of respective upper and lower ends of said tank, saidabutments locating and holding respective top and bottom ends of saidcasing, said casing ends in turn locating and holding said tubularcasing.

2. A hot water dispenser, comprising a water storage tank, means forheating the water within the tank, pipe means having one portion passingthrough a lower wall portion of said tank and constituting the inlet endof said pipe means, said pipe means having an intermediate portionpassing inwardly through said tank and having an outlet end portionpassing through an upper wall portion of said tank and outwardly of thelatter, the inlet end of said pipe means being connectable to a sourceof water supply and the outlet end portion being connectable to aconduit for leading heated water to a place of use, said intermediateportion of said pipe means having a first opening for delivering waterto said tank and a second opening above said first and adjacent to thatpart of the tank having the hottest water and also having a restrictedorifice-forming nipple therein and located adjacent to but below saidsecond opening, whereby hot water from said tank is drawn through saidsecond opening by action of inlet water flowing through said pipe meansto mix with the relatively cooler inlet water and thereby deliver tosaid outlet portion and to the place of use water at a temperature lowerthan that within said tank but higher than that coming from said source.

3. The construction of claim 2 and further including deflector meanswithin said tank and above said first opening for deflecting inlet waterflowing through the latter in a direction radially from said pipe meansand toward the side wall of said tank.

4. The construction of claim 2 wherein said heating means is an electricimmersion heater coiled about the inlet end of said pipe means.

5. The construction of-claim 2 and further including an invertedcup-shaped baflie secured around the inlet end of said pipe means anddisposed above said first opening for deflecting inlet water flowingthrough the latter in a direction radially from said pipe means andtoward the side wall of said tank, and wherein said heating means is anelectric immersion heater coiled about the inlet end of said pipe meansadjacent to said baflie.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,494,326 5/1924Adams 219-299 X 2,013,914 9/1935 Hartmann 219-3 14 X 2,621,901 12/1952Wheeler 126-362 X 2,903,551 9/1959 Fischer 219-312 3,065,764 11/ 1962Lyle 137337 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,299,281 6/1962 France.

360,734 11/ 1931 Great Britain.

414,512 8/1934 Great Britain.

433,075 8/ 1935 Great Britain.

921,676 3/ 1963 Great Britain.

593,128 5/1959 Italy.

References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 985,834 3/1911Parker. 1,113,232 10/1914 Mergott. 1,762,215 6/ 1930 Dahlquist.3,086,682 4/ 1963 Martin.

ANTHONY BARTIS, Primary Examiner.

2. A HOT WATER DISPENSER, COMPRISING A WATER STORAGE TANK, MEANS FORHEATING THE WATER WITHIN THE TANK, PIPE MEANS HAVING ONE PORTION PASSINGTHROUGH A LOWER WALL PORTION OF SAID TANK AND CONSTITUTING THE INLET ENDOF SAID PIPE MEANS, SAID PIPE MEANS HAVING AN INTERMEDIATE PORTIONPASSING INWARDLY THROUGH SAID TANK AND HAVING AN OUTLET END PORTIONPASSING THROUGH AN UPPER WALL PORTION OF SAID TANK AND OUTWARDLY OF THELATTER, THE INLET END OF SAID PIPE MEANS BEING CONNECTABLE TO A SOURCEOF WATER SUPPLY AND THE OUTLET END PORTION BEING CONNECTABLE TO ACONSUIT FOR LEADING HEATED WATER TO A PLACE OF USE, SAID INTERMEDIATEPORTION OF SAID PIPE MEANS HAVING A FIRST OPENING FOR DELIVERING WATERTO SAID TANK AND A SECOND OPENING ABOVE SAID FIRST AND ADJACENT TO THATPART OF THE TANK HAVING THE HOTTEST WATER AND ALSO HAVING A RESTRICTEDORIFICE-FORMING NIPPLE THEREIN AND LOCATED ADJACENT TO BUT BELOW SAIDSECOND OPENING, WHEREBY HOT WATER FROM SAID TANK IS DRAWN THROUGH SAIDSECOND OPENING BY ACTION OF INLET WATER FLOWING THROUGH SAID PIPE MEANSTO MIX WITH THE RELATIVELY COOLER INLET WATER AND THEREBY DELIVER TOSAID OUTLET PORTION AND TO THE PLACE OF USE WATER AT A TEMPERATURE LOWERTHAN THAT WITHIN SAID TANK BUT HIGHER THAN THAT COMING FROM SAID SOURCE.